Under Lithuanian law it is the Seimas (parliament) that rules on the status of religious organizations. The Baptist Union application was considered by the parliamentary human rights committee on May 16. It decided to pass the application to the full Parliament, which is due to debate and vote on the application on June 14.
Public debate has also been initiated via the parliamentary Web site, where ordinary citizens can give their views. "As of today, the absolute majority of views are in favor of the application," Linas Andronovas, executive secretary of the Baptist Union, told the Keston News Service by telephone on May 22. "There are 47 in favor, only nine against."
The union first applied to the Parliament for "traditional" status on November 8, 1998. Parliament then passed the application to the Ministry of Justice and the state security department for their assessments.
Eventually the human rights committee rejected the application before it reached the floor of the Parliament. In a letter dated June 9, 2000, signed by committee chairman Emanuelis Zingeris, the committee cited a Justice Ministry recommendation that the Baptists be given the status of a recognized faith.
"They gave no reasons why we were rejected," Andronovas complained. "It was just stated that the committee decided the application should not be taken further."
Donatas Glodenis, a senior official of the registration section at the Ministry of Justice, attributes the rejection to the unwritten rule that religious groups need to have been present for three or four centuries to be eligible for traditional status. But this is not officially stated anywhere.
"Obviously, the Baptists do not match the criterion, for they have existed in Lithuania for 150 years."
Many of Lithuania's minority faiths are unhappy at the four-tier system of government recognition accorded to religious groups, arguing it discriminates against legitimate faiths even if they have existed in the country for at least three centuries.
They regard the forthcoming decision on whether to grant the Baptist Union second-ranking status as a recognized faith as a test of the state's commitment to religious liberty, especially as applications by two other religious communities are pending, while another is about to lodge an application.
Article 5 of the 1995 Law on Religious Communities and Associations grants traditional status to nine faiths - Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, Russian Orthodox, Old Believer, Jewish, Sunni Muslim and Karaite - without explaining how and why these groups were chosen.
Religious communities without traditional status are at a disadvantage. "There are important restrictions, including on the right to buy land, the right to teach one's children in public schools, the right to pay the same rates for water, electricity and telephone, and to speak on national TV and radio," Arnoldas Matijosius, a Vilnius-based lawyer who has been handling the Baptist Union's recognition application, said.
"If any religion is younger than 300 years on Lithuanian soil, generally any law can discriminate against its followers. Unfortunately, that is supported by constitutional jurisprudence."
Andronovas concurred. "In 1995, it was said recognized groups would be equal to traditional groups, but step by step all privileges have been whittled away. The only privilege now is that the government pays social security payments for clergy."
The United Methodist Church applied to the Parliament for state recognition on October 5, 1999, while the New Apostolic Church applied for this status on July 28, 2000. Asked if these two applications are likely to be successful, Glodenis responded: "The Ministry of Justice has not completed the conclusions, so we cannot state our position yet. The ministry has to research the roots and historical heritage of a particular association, its teachings, position in society, etc. That takes time."
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